Centerboard receives grant to help end sexual exploitation

Centerboard announced they received a $1,500.00 community grant from the Walmart Foundation and Walmart Lynn to support their We Rise Program. We Rise helps to prevent childhood sexual exploitation and assists survivors to find a path out.

“We are thankful for Walmart and their generous grant to our We Rise Program,” said Mark DeJoie, Chief Executive Officer of Centerboard. “We will continue providing our services to close the gap in specialized supports for the estimated 150+ young girls and women in Essex County who are sexually exploited each year. We will also increase our efforts to spread awareness around this issue and as well as our direct prevention activities.”

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation generally provide more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind to support programs that align with our philanthropic priorities.

We Rise brings together survivors of commercial sexual exploitation with key community allies in order to prevent, intervene against, and promote recovery from the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Their comprehensive, survivor-informed program empowers girls and young women through community outreach, emergency intervention, and transitional and ongoing supports. They work with survivors from Essex county including Lynn, Peabody and Saugus.

The money from this grant went towards We Rise’s prevention group work, public awareness campaigns, and developing a public school curriculum.

Centerboard is a community-based, non-profit charitable organization that supports families and young people through housing, access to employment, education and financial empowerment. They work with local residents, businesses, and elected officials to increase economic opportunity in the community. In addition, Centerboard is invested in Lynn’s creative economy by spearheading public art projects and running the non-profit gallery Visionspace. Through these efforts, they serve over 2,200 people each year. Centerboard believes that communities thrive when you invest in their people and places.